


Expecting the Worst

by SentientBot



Category: Batman - All Media Types, DCU, Shazam! (2019)
Genre: One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-28
Updated: 2020-11-28
Packaged: 2021-03-10 03:35:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,186
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27757753
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SentientBot/pseuds/SentientBot
Summary: Hal Jordan will readily admit, there's no way he could have predicted this one.
Relationships: Billy Batson & Bruce Wayne
Comments: 18
Kudos: 266





	Expecting the Worst

**Author's Note:**

> Vaguely set in the animated universe, using a lot of the live-action Shazam lore. I’ve just been wanting more wholesome Billy & Bruce interactions. Un-beta’d but I did read through it like 8 times because I’m a mess.

Hal pulled up the Watchtower’s monitor schedule. He was back earthside (or, back in orbit at least) for the first time in two months. He was hoping he’d see “Batman” or “Superman” written on the current shift, so he could hand off the flash-drive containing the vague details of his tour. He found it was easier to just have it ready as soon as he landed, because that meant he could shower and head home without being hounded.

Normally summaries and reports weren’t easy for Hal to write up on time, but recently he’s been dictating his notes on his long flights home. Bruce had a script that would auto-translate audio files to text, special coded just for him. He’d land, upload the files and drop the drive off with Bruce. If Bruce was being especially difficult to track down, then he could usually pawn it off on Clark.

Luck seemed to be with him because there it was in big block text; **1530-2030: BATMAN** and…

Oh. **CAPTAIN MARVEL**. Batman, slotted in a room with Shazam for 5 hours. A room where headphones weren’t allowed. A room where you couldn’t even pretend to be asleep. How the Watchtower was still in orbit, Hal couldn’t hazard to guess. He knew Bruce was usually the one to write the schedule, so he had no idea what circumstances would have brought this event together.

Hal felt the corner of his mouth curl up as he thought about it. It was always interesting to see someone other than himself infuriate Bruce. He decided it was worth checking out for himself, and that a stealth approach was best.

As he quietly floated down the hall, he heard Shazam’s voice carry out through the open door.

“-turned out to be just a really nasty flu, so she’s gonna be alright. She even gets to stay home from school, and eat junk food all day, so I’m a little jealous.” Hal grinned at the Captain’s laidback tone. This was great. Shazam happily chattering away, while Bruce was most likely trying to keep his hand from wrapping around the kid’s neck.

“Have your own studies been going well?” Hal paused. That was definitely the Bat’s voice. He could hear the tinny tone of the modulator, though turned up an octave or two from the normal growl.

There was no way they were just having a casual conversation. Bruce didn’t have casual anything with anyone, and Hal had first hand experience with how obnoxious a bored Shazam could be. He leaned against the wall just outside the door, where he wouldn’t be seen. In his head, he re-arranged his morals to include eavesdropping.

“Yeah school’s been cool. I picked up a photography class as an elective this semester, because I thought it would be an easy B+, y’know? I thought I could just snap a couple pictures with my phone, slap an instagram filter on it and call it a day. But instead! Nooo, I’ve gotta learn about ‘composition’ and ‘color balance’. And you wanna know what the worst part is?”

“Hm.”

“I’m kinda liking it! Wild right?”

“Do you think that’s something you’d like to pursue?”

Hal felt his eyebrows climb up. Was Bruce really encouraging, and actively participating, in conversation?

“Nah, it’s been cool learning about it, but I dunno. It’s not something I want to center my life around.”

There was a long enough lull that he figured whatever weird, star-aligned moment that was had passed. Right when he was about to head in, Bruce spoke again.

“Were you able to speak with your friend?”

Hal sat there, trying to puzzle out how they would know each other so well.

“Who? Oh C- uh, I mean, yeah, my friend.” Hal heard a heavy sigh. “I did, but man, I don’t think it really made anything better. I dunno, I don’t wanna talk about it.”

“Mm.”

“Anyway… Oh! Did you see me on the news on, like, Tuesday I think?”

Right then, Hal heard steps behind him. He turned to see Oliver walking down the hall. Hal waved a hand to get his attention then quickly put a finger up to his lips. Oliver paused and raised an eyebrow. Hal beckoned him over then pointed to the door, holding his other hand to his ear. Oliver grinned, he was always down for a bit of spying.

“-it was so sick!” Shazam continued. “I stopped like, an ordinary, non-magical, real crime. Solomon helped me talk the guy down so he didn’t even try to shoot anybody. And I even got to show off the ‘ceps a bit by lifting the vault’s door back in place.”

Oliver turned to look at Hal, brow furrowed. Hal held up a finger signalling him to wait, grinning.

“This really pretty woman, who was one of the tellers I think, gave me her number, too. I mean, obviously I’m not gonna do anything about it, she was definitely too old, but it was still cool.”

“I’ve been wanting to ask-”

At Bruce’s voice, Oliver’s head whipped around to look at Hal. His eyebrows shot up.

“-you don’t have to answer if you would prefer not to. Is Solomon the only one who talks to you?”

Hal held himself as still as he could. He knew next to nothing about the origin of Shazam or his abilities. The Captain held his identities, both secret and super, close to his chest, making any knowledge of him valuable trading currency in the gossip industry.

“Oh, uh yeah sorta,” Shazam said haltingly. “Well, he’s the only one that uses full sentences. Zeus will yell a word or two occasionally, if I’m in a really intense fight. Hermes feels... happy? when I’m going top speed. I don’t- I don’t know how to describe it. They don’t feel like people, they’re just kind of there. As- as a part of me or something.”

“Even when you’re not the Captain?”

“Yeah, thank god. Otherwise I never would have passed my math class.”

Ollie mouths “What the fuck?” at Hal, who just shrugs back at him, bewildered. He didn’t know Bruce and Shazam were friends. Although, now that he was thinking about it, he didn't remember Bruce and Shazam interacting much at all. He couldn’t recall a time when Bruce had cut Shazam off, or shut him down the way he did to Hal. He was always patient with the Captain, or would just ignore him, no matter how immature the comment.

They seemed to be done speaking for the most part. Hal shrugged at Oliver, who just looked baffled. He pushed off the wall.

“Hey Batsy,” he said as he stepped around the corner into the monitor room. “Got two months of nothin’ special for you to sift through.” He set the flash-drive on the table next to him. “Hey Captain, how’s it been?” Hal clapped a hand on Shazam’s shoulder before turning and heading back out.

Oliver walked with him down the hall toward the founding member’s suits. Once they were out of earshot, Oliver turned and said “Alright, what the hell was that about?”

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first completed and first published fic. Sorry if that was obvious. I’m new to writing so any feedback would be appreciated :) I’d also welcome tag recommendations.


End file.
